To view the quick of the nail, gently lift your dog's paw and look at the center of the unclipped nail head-on. If the nail has a small dark circle at the center, it indicates the beginning of the quick of the nail. Do not clip any nail that has a circle in the center as you'll be clipping into the quick.
What part of the dogs nail is the quick?
Include the dewclaws, located on the inner side of the paw. Avoid clipping past the curve of the nail or you risk hitting what is called the quick (the pink area of the nail that contains the blood vessels). A nick there is painful and will bleed. For dogs with dark nails, watch for a chalky white ring.
Where does a dog's quick start?
The quick is where the pink part of the nail begins – trim just below this line. But for many of us, our dogs either have one or more nails that are all black, making it impossible to see where the quick is from the outside of the nail.
Where does a dog's quick end?
In younger dogs with white nails, the quick is generally easy to see from the side of the nail. Trim a little at a time, looking both at the side of the nail and at the cut surface. In white nails, the cut surface will turn pink just before reaching the quick. This is where you should stop.
How far down is the quick on a dog's nail?
It's best to not cut within 2 millimeters of the quick. As you cut the nail deeper, a gray to pink oval starts to appear at the top of the cut surface of the nail. Stop cutting the nail at this point as additional cutting will cut into the quick and cause bleeding.
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